The Meadow
The Meadow by foxey For Firey's Story Challenge Prologue Captivation. Her beauty was breath-taking, her eyes an endless pit of cobalt. They sparked a new level of intensity, surrounded by the cornflowers in the relentless meadow. Her pelt seemed to shine in some unnatural way. The sky was a brilliant pastel-blue, cold as sweet ice, with flaming winds. It was a beautiful day, the perfect day, as she waited for an answer, with a smile lingering on her lips. Butterflies surrounded the two, sparking emotions beyond what both could withstand. And then the captivated spoke the dreadful words, possibly driven by the maddening meadow, right here, right now: "I love you." And all that was bright faded to gray. I "Jade!" The light brown and white she-cat turned as her mother called her. The taller replica of herself ran down the camp elegantly. "Where are you off to at this time of day?" "What?" the she-cat tipped her head. "Jade, you know you're supposed to be in your den at this time!" Ravenna snapped. "I don't know what's gotten into you these days." "Why can't I'' be allowed out at moonhigh?" Jade yowled. "Why am I always imprisoned for almost half of the day?" "I've told you this many times, it's dangerous out there. Especially for the daughter of a rogue leader." "Who am I in danger from?" The question hung in the air like water about to precipitate. "Nothing," Ravenna meowed quietly. "Now go to your den before I call your father out here!" With a huff, Jade strolled back to her den, aware of her mother following close behind. It wasn't fair, why could everyone else enjoy the nighttime while she couldn't? She was important, after all. She was higher than all of the other rogues and they knew it. And so did Ravenna but she probably wanted to keep her perfect daughter away from the other misfits. That was probably the danger, and she knew she couldn't be angry at her mother for that. But still, it got quite lonely. Especially when she was invited to Cherise and her family's den for a sleepover with her friends. Cherise and her family were a well-known and a popular family. But now she couldn't get to charm them with her presence and face their utter disappointment the next sun-high. Jade lay down on her nest, curled up, facing the entrance in case anyone came inside, although the guards would question anyone who came to visit her at night, even her own parents. But still. She sighed and thought of how life in the Rogue Union was so dull for her. There were four leaders and her father happened to be one of them, representing the Jewel Region. The other regions were Sun, Night, and Mountain. And the only thing she knew was that they were united against a powerful force - the Clans. Her mind shifted to her father, whose name was Rastus and he and Ravenna became mates shortly before he gained his position and it was highly rumored that Ravenna assisted him in his campaign a lot. Jade was born a quarter moon before Rastus became the Jewel representative, making her a princess at so young. Her favorite part of the job was when she stood beside her father and mother as the former made highly important announcements. She loved being important, as she was now. But after she turned eight moons, Ravenna limited Jade's time to be out from sun-high to sun-set, never later, never earlier. At this rate, she would forget what the moon looked like. She was ten now, and was still treated like a kit. The young princess yawned as dreams overtook her, and she dreamed of the moon shining bright on her fur, and other colors were there too, flashing repeatedly. II It was Climbing-Sun, and Jade was called down to breakfast. She polished her unkempt fur from last night's rest and washed her eyelids, so her green eyes would shine brighter than normal. She crossed the pathway from her den to the dining hall where her parents waited, with beautiful slices of robin laid out in front of them. Her plate had the same except an extra slice of honeycomb. Jade sat down and dug into her robin, saving the honeycomb for last, properly. But as she looked up from her last bite, she noticed her father glowering at her. "It has come to my attention you haven't been following orders of your curfew," he spoke in his thick regal accent. "Is this true?" "Cherise's family invited me over." Jade quickly explained. "Cherise and her family?" Ravenna looked bewildered. "At ''nighttime?" Rastus asked. "Did you say you would go?" "I said I would think about it." Jade took another bite of her prey. "And what would they think now that you didn't show up as hinted?" Rastus pounded his paw against the wooden platform holding their meal, and the honeycomb bounced. "Do you understand how humiliating this is for us?" "Relax," Ravenna took Jade's side for once. "she's a leader's daughter. They know she has better things to do than gallivant off to a place crowded with her lesser. After all, she didn't say yes." Jade almost gulped, knowing she hadn't told the exact truth. Guilt churned in her belly. She forced herself to finish another slice of robin. "She should've consulted us and asked us of our opinion!" Rastus retaliated. "Is that not what parents are for? She should learn to respect her higher." he turned to Jade. "You will be punished for this. You will not leave the palace quarters at all today, and you must be in your den by sunhigh." "How will she know what the time is inside the den?" Ravenna asked. "She can ask a guard or figure it out herself in that feathered-brain of hers." Rastus excused himself from the table, finished with his meal, and Ravenna followed soon after. After a moment, she was back, snatching the honeycomb away. Jade's anger had been fed to the breaking point. She was a princess. She should not be treated so unfairly. What had she done to deserve this mess? But she would never switch to the life of a common cat even though she was considering it very much. It was too unimportant. She would not stand out at all. Well, unless she was Cherise... "Madam, your parents have sent a message," a maid with dappled brown fur was suddenly at her ear. "to finish up quickly as they must leave for a national meeting." "I didn't know they were having a national meeting today!" Jade stood up. "I will get ready as soon as possible." "N-no, you aren't invited miss," the she-cat stuttered. "they wanted to make sure you knew that." Red hot waves circled Jade as she sat back down, flushing. How dare her parents rid her of such an important honor! To miss a national meeting? While all the other kits of the leaders were able to attend? "Please take my meal away. I am not interested anymore." ~ Meetings usually took the whole day so Jade had no one around. All of the palace officials were gone so the huge, broad den was empty except for guards. Jade knew it was unavoidable - she would be trapped inside for the whole day. Perhaps her father knew that, otherwise she would've gotten a different punishment. Because she really thought taking the honeycomb was enough. Jade sat down on her nest, thinking. Why did she have to be obedient? She wasn't going to be the next leader unless she campaigned so hard but everyone knew someone from Cherise's family was bound to get the position next term. So what was all this fuss for? Why couldn't anyone see her real self? Jade knew she was going to a bad, bad place where she lost her self-control. But her parents weren't around. Just this once... Jade turned and Category:Foxstep's Fanfictions Category:Contest Entries